MANILA, Philippines - Picture a vast emerald carpet extending from Cagayan to Quezon. From within, it is a verdant vision of life – where throngs of plants jostle for both space and sunlight. It is a place where Philippine Eagles (Pithecophaga jefferyi) soar, where Philippine crocodiles (Crocodylus mindorensis) still skulk.
Stretching over 340 kilometers north to south and covering a land area of 359,486 hectares, the Sierra Madre is both the Philippines’ longest mountain range and its largest protected area. Approximately 45 percent of all known Philippine endemic plants can be found within its lush, primeval forests – which in turn irrigate an estimated 400,000 hectares of rice farms and corn fields in the Cagayan Valley.
Sadly its forests are continuously assailed by unchecked illegal logging, swidden farming and clearing, threatening the livelihood of Cagayan Valley’s farmers.
To address this, Sun Life Financial-Philippines (SLFP) recently partnered with the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF-Philippines) to conserve and protect the life-giving forests of the Sierra Madre.
Sun Life, through the Sun Life Foundation, pledges to develop the agroforestry sites of the Abuan watershed in the western part of Sierra Madre by funding the procurement and distribution of over 4,000 mango and citrus seedlings to be planted in 18 hectares of farmland.
“Sun Life customers can now do their part in preserving the environment just by enrolling their policies and mutual fund accounts under the SunLink Online e-Notice. For every e-Notice enrollment of their billing notice and/or statement of account, Sun Life Foundation shall donate P5 to WWF,” says Karen Casas, chief administration officer of SLFP.
WWF-Philippines senior Water Resources manager Ed Tongson, on the other hand, explains that “Water is the lifeblood of agriculture. By empowering its customers to sustain Cagayan Valley’s largest water source, Sun Life is helping secure our future sources of corn and more importantly – of rice.”
Sun Life customers can enroll for the Sunlink Online e-Notice from today onwards by visiting www.sunlife.com.ph to create a SunLink Online user account.